Journey to the center of the heart

 

One thousand four hundred forty hours / 60 days / 8 weeks / 2 months

It still boggles my mind to say those numbers... As of this writing, it's been 2 months since my operation and that has felt like both an eternity as well as a blur during that time.
I can't believe time is flying by so fast and yet the day to day seems so slow.

It's been a full 4 weeks since I've updated you on where I am at with things and how I'm doing during this recovery, and things couldn't be better. Along with the lifting/weight restrictions being removed at week 6, I was also cleared by my cardiologist to start light riding around the neighborhood and other mellow trails. No singletrack yet and no rowdy riding, but being able to get outside and travel with more than just my two feet or a car has been profound on my mental attitude! 

I (almost) forgot how good it feels to ride around with the wind in my face and the smells from all the spring blossoms. It's almost like being a child again and having that feeling of freedom that two wheels can give you.

I'm still in cardiac rehab 3 days a week for another month and a half. A total of 36 sessions is what I'm covered for and since my maximum out of pocket for insurance was reached the day I walked outta the hospital, I'm using the cardiac rehab gym as my 'paid' membership for recovery. 

The team there is great and they understand the life I want to get back to living and therefor have tailored my workouts around that previous lifestyle. I pretty much only spend time on the recumbent bike in the gym, with steadily increasing resistance as well as some intervals. Each session is 40 min of constant pedaling and by the time I'm done, I'm drenched in sweat from the effort. But it's all good as they have me hooked up to a heart rate monitor as well as taking multiple blood pressure checks before, during and after the workout. It's nice to have someone monitoring vital signs while getting back into exercising. 

I went in for a stress test a couple weeks back and lasted 13min on the treadmill with steadily increasing speed and incline. I managed to fall in the 131% for my 'age and gender' category along with a bunch of monitored data that is now used by my cardiac rehab team to stay within the limits of my max heart rate.

It's still crazy to me how hard and exhausting the same things I used to be able to do are, nowadays. Probably one of the harder things to manage during the healing is the mind thinking I can do something and the body still saying no...

But speaking of exercising, my energy is finally coming back around to the point where I can enjoy some extra curricular activities like fishing! While Kristen is out on training rides, I'm able to tag along and find some mellower fire roads as well as rivers and streams to fish. Just being outside, next to flowing water, in the sun, has been amazing. Catching fish or not, it's a blessing to be outdoors enjoying the beautiful state we call home and getting a line wet.

I'm also getting good at napping. It's not everyday but it definitely helps restore and reset the body when things get too busy. I never used to like naps all that much, but since the operation my two best friends (Rambo & Bojangles) have helped make me a convert on the matter.

We went out for steak dinner Thursday night to celebrate my two-month anniversary and to reflect on how crazy these last couple of months have been. I seriously couldn't have imagined healing this well and this fast. Leading up to the operation I was planning for (not hoping) the worst to happen as no one really knew how everything would go down. Everyone's story and subsequent recovery is different and no two people are the same. That is one of the biggest lessons I learned leading up to the operation. You can take all the info in but at the end of the day no one is exactly like me and my story is unknown until it's being written.

Going into the hospital in peak physical and mental shape has gotten me to a better place than I was before and just the other day, for the first time while riding my bike I felt something different and I said out loud, "I'm going to better than I was before... I'M GOING TO BE BETTER THAN I WAS BEFORE!"

I can feel it and I'm excited to work through this "hiccup" in my life and get back to living!

I also have been slowly working my way back into the shop and after 58 days of not creating anything with my two hands, I changed that. It feels good to be back sewing part-time and it's funny how time away from something can make you unsure of your skills going back in. Like, "will I remember how to do this?" 

A resounding yes, I remember like it was yesterday. Some big news coming for JPaks later this summer and after thinking 2021 would just be a season to "manage to get through," it's gonna be spectacular! 

Love

-Joe